“There are parts of Texas that are doing well. And there is a tremendous number of Texans, more than Perry has ever wanted to acknowledge, that are doing very, very poorly.”-Miguel Ferguson, University of Texas

Texas Governor Rick Perry likes to claim having created jobs for Texans, but he’s also to blame for increasing the poverty rate!

In the past two years Texas has created 40% of new U.S. jobs, but also has the fastest growing poverty rate in the whole country. That means most of those new jobs are not paying enough to cover the basic cost of living.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics about 550,000 workers last year were paid at, or even below, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau the national average poverty rate is 15.1%, and as of 2010 the poverty rate in Texas is 18.4%.

The main reason for the poverty; Perry’s so called job creation isn’t happening fast enough: “The middle class are losing their jobs and are not able to replace them fast enough. That’s driving them straight into poverty.”-Bradley Manning, Texas Neighborhood Services

To make matters worse, Texas has one of the worst social service programs in the country: “We don’t have the support system in place to provide economic support or economic opportunity to help families lift themselves out of poverty.” said Frances Deviney, Center for Public Policy Priorities